Karl Tamburr
P.O. Box 117
Sweet Briar, VA 24595
434-381-6178
tamburr@sbc.edu
TITLE:
Professor of English (since 1989)
TEACHING/PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
1989-Present Professor of English, Sweet Briar College
1982-89 Associate Professor of English, Sweet Briar College
1976-82 Assistant Professor of English, Sweet Briar College
1975-76 Visiting Lecturer in English, Sweet Briar College
1974-75 Instructor in English (part-time), University of Virginia
1972-74 Graduate Instructor in English, University of Virginia
EDUCATION
A.B. Princeton University 1970
M.A. University of Virginia 1971
Ph.D. University of Virginia 1974
HONORS/GRANTS
PUBLICATIONS2004 Grant-in-Aid, fall sabbatical
1999 "Outstanding Contribution" to SBC Theatre Arts Program
1999 Robert Barlow Faculty and Staff Award
1997 Interdisciplinary Studies Grant, spring sabbatical
1995 Interdisciplinary Studies Grant, spring
1994 Interdisciplinary Studies Grant, spring
1989-90 Sweet Briar Faculty Fellowship Grant
1988 Gilpin Faculty Enrichment Grant and Interdisciplinary Studies Grant
1985 Sweet Briar College Faculty Research Grant
1981 Robert G. III and Maude Morgan Cabell Foundation Grant
1979 Sweet Briar College Faculty Research Grant
1978 Maurice L. Mednick Fund Grant
1977 Sweet Briar College Faculty Research Grant
SELECTED PRESENTATIONSBook
The Harrowing of Hell in Medieval England. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell & Brewer, 2007.
Essays
"From Narrative to Drama: The Transformation of the Gospel of Nicodemus in Middle English," Medieval Perspectives 16 (2001): 135-50.
"Mystic Transformation: Julian's Version of the Harrowing of Hell," Mystics Quarterly 20 (1994): 60-7.
"Herod the Great" (with Roger Murphy), "Pharaoh," and "Second Adam." The Dictionary of Biblical Tradition in English Literature. Ed. David L. Jeffrey. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1992.
"The Dethroning of Satan in the Chester Cycle." Neuphilologische Mitteilungen 85 (1984): 316-28.Book Reviews
"Festive Drama: Papers from the Sixth Triennial Colloquium of the International Society for the Study of Medieval Theatre, Lancaster, 13-19 July, 1989, edited by Meg Twycross; "Medieval and Renaissance Drama in England. Vol. 8, edited by Leeds Barroll," The Review of English Studies 49 (1998): 78-80.
"The Power of Women: A Topos in Medieval Art and Literature, by Susan L. Smith." The Review of English Studies 48 (1997): 386-7.
"Julian of Norwich’s ‘Showings’: From Vision to Book,
by Denise Nowakowski Baker." The Review of English Studies 48 (1997): 81-2.
2005 “The Debate in the Harrowing of Hell,” delivered at the Thirty- First Annual Conference of the Southeastern Medieval Association, hosted by Stetson University at Daytona Beach, Florida
2004 “Milton and the Descent into Hell,” delivered at the 2004Convention of the South Atlantic Modern Language Association, Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center
2004 “A Modern Play of the Harrowing of Hell,” delivered at the Thirtieth Annual Conference of the Southeastern Medieval Association, College of Charleston
2003 “From Birth to Victory: The Incarnation and the Harrowing of Hell in English Medieval Literature,” delivered at Twenty-Ninth Annual Conference of the Southeastern Medieval Association, University of Arkansas
2002 “The Form-ing of MS Bodleian 556,” delivered at the Twenty- Eighth Annual Conference of the Southeastern Medieval Association, Florida State University
2001 “The Bodleian Manuscripts of the Evangelium Nicodemi, or What I Did on My Summer Vacation,” delivered at the Twenty-Seventh Annual Conference of the Southeastern Medieval Association, sponsored by Loyola and Tulane universities, New Orleans, Louisiana
2000 “From Narrative to Drama: The Transformation of the Gospel of Nicodemus in Middle English,” delivered at the Twenty-Sixth Annual Conference of the Southeastern Medieval Association, University of North Carolina at Asheville
1998 “The Harrowing of Hell in Piers Plowman,” delivered at the Twenty-Fourth Annual Conference of the Southeastern Medieval Association, Agnes Scott College
1997 "The Harrowing of Hell as Paradigm in the English Medieval Saint’s Life," delivered at the Twenty-Third Annual Conference of the Southeastern Medieval Association, sponsored jointly by Middle Tennessee State University and Vanderbilt University
1996 Participant in a panel discussion on "Teaching ‘History of the English Language’: Assignments that Work," at the Twenty-Second Conference of the Southeastern Medieval Association, Baylor University
1995 "Eve (and Adam) at the Harrowing of Hell," to be delivered at the Twenty-First Annual Conference of the Southeastern Medieval Association, College of Charleston
1993 "The Oratory of Hengrave Hall: The Program of its Stained Glass," delivered at the Nineteenth Annual Conference of the Southeastern Medieval Association, sponsored jointly by Loyola University, Tulane University, and the University of New Orleans
1993 "Why Shakespeare Didn't Know Grammar," address delivered at the Opening Convocation of Sweet Briar College
1992 "Julian's Fourth Revelation: The Transformation of the Harrowing of Hell" [an earlier version of the article above], delivered at the Eighteenth Annual Conference of the Southeastern Medieval Association, College of William and Mary
1991 Dinner lecture on courtly love in medieval song in conjunction with the performance of Sequentia as part of the Babcock Season
1990 "Spenser's Use of the Harrowing of Hell in Book I of The Faerie Queene," delivered at the Sixteenth Annual Conference of the Southeastern Medieval Association, Meredith College
1989 "Images of the Harrowing of Hell in English Medieval Churches," delivered at the Fourteenth International Conference on Patristic, Mediæval, and Renaissance Studies, Villanova University
1988 "Change and Pattern in the Chester Cycle: The Mosaic Law," delivered at the Sixth Citadel Conference on Literature, The Citadel
1984 "The Descent into Hell and the Counter-Reforma- tion," delivered at the Ninth International Conference on Patristic, Mediæval, and Renaissance Studies, Villanova University
1983 "Theme and Structure in the Chester Temptation," delivered at the Eighth International Conference on Patristic, Mediæval, and Renaissance Studies, Villanova University
1981 "The Dethroning of Satan in the Chester Cycle," [an earlier version of the article above] delivered at the Sixth International Conference on Patristic, Mediæval, and Renaissance Studies, Villanova University
1979 "Spiritual Sight and the English Corpus Christi Play," delivered at the Fourth National Conference on Patristic, Mediæval, and Renaissance Studies, Villanova University
1978 "The Easter Vigil and the Descensus ad inferos," delivered at the Third National Conference on Patristic, Mediæval, and Renaissance Studies, Villanova University
MEMBERSHIPS
American Association of University Professors
Southeastern Medieval Association